Hello, old friend!

Sometimes, you know a movie is good. You remember that it is good. And then, you watch it again after several years...and you re-discover that it is great.

John Frankenheimer's Ronin (1998) is a smart, engaging tale of black ops espionage, with a mind-blowing internationally known all-star cast including Robert DeNiro (U.S.), Jean Reno (France), Stellan Skarsgaard (Sweden), Natascha McElhone (England), Jonathan Pryce (Wales), Sean Bean (England), and an important cameo from Michael Lonsdale (France). The back of the box bizarrely compares it to The French Connection, to which I say, it's a good thing I didn't see that first, or I'd never had watched Ronin. They have nothing in common - not genre, not quality, nothing.

From a tiny French cafe, six men and a woman make their way to a dingy warehouse where the men are given their assignment: recover a large silver case. What's in the case? That's none of their business, but both the Irish and the Russians are in an all-out bidding war (which both are willing to turn in to a shooting war) to own it. When one of the men screws the rest during the retrieval and makes off with the case, intending to get all the money for himself and becoming everyone's target, things go instantly SNAFU. Cue the pursuit.

This film does so much right; in many ways, I can't think of another film it can really be compared to. The scope of its audience is unparalleled thanks to the smart casting of one huge American star and several huge European stars, most of whom were already familiar faces in the U.S. at the time. The script is above reproach, every character well-conceived and consistent. DeNiro's Sam and Reno's Vincent, the veterans of the operation, speak like men who have spent the brunt of their lives doing this sort of work, and have the best dialogue of the film; Sean Bean's little fish trying to swim in a big pond is pathetically perfect. The car chases are some of the most insane true chases (by which I mean not digitally enhanced) you'll ever see. Most significantly, the whole film is grounded in Atmosphere. Even though it takes place entirely in France, the only time the setting is every pretty is during a fleeting scene at a Riviera hotel. The rest of the time, romantic Europe is just as claustrophobic and dirty as anywhere else. The two tunnels involved in car chases look like normal tunnels, filthy, in bad repair, and brightly lit with harsh fluorescents. Keeping it real grounds the story, and keeps it tense and honest - none of that romanticized Europe or glamorous, dark, sleek, sexy tunnels to chase through. In other words, director Frankenheimer is honest with his subject matter. Say it with me: black ops is not nice!

This would probably be the eighth time I've watched Ronin, and it's still as excellent as the first time around. So good to see you, old friend.